Following the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation, an organization of African-American troops was commenced in the Mississippi River Valley under the personal supervision of the adjutant-general of the army, Lorenzo Thomas. His first regiment was mustered into service on May 1, 1863, as the 1st Arkansas Volunteers of African Descent, The 1st Arkansas was one of four regiments of African Americans that was raised in Helena, Phillips County, an important Union held fortified city and naval port on the Mississippi River.[4]
Twenty-one-year-old Minos Miller of the 36th Iowa Infantry, stationed at Helena, Arkansas wrote in January 1863:[5]
[W]e are rejoicing today over Brags [sic] defeat [at Murfreesboro, Tennessee] and Old Abe's [Emancipation] Proclamation. We got the news last night at 8 o'clock that all the negros was free and them that was able for servis [sic] was to be armed and set to guarding foarts [sic]. I think the Union is safe and all will be over by the forth [sic] of July.[5]
On April 7, Miller attended a speech by Adjutant General of the Army Lorenzo Thomas, who was promoting the raising of black regiments for service in the Union army (under white officers). Reaction to Thomas's address was so favorable that three companies of a hundred soldiers each were recruited immediately, forming the nucleus of the 1st Arkansas Volunteer Infantry Regiment (African Descent).[5]
The regiment was organized Arkansas at large May 1, 1863, as the 1st Regiment Arkansas Volunteer Infantry (African Descent). The designation of the regiment was changed to 46th U.S. Colored Troops May 11, 1864.[6] The 1st Arkansas soon left Helena for service in Louisiana.[5]
Service
The unit moved to Lake Providence, La., May 8–10, 1863, and then to Goodrich Landing and was on duty there until January, 1864. The regiment was attached to Post of Goodrich Landing, District of Northeast Louisiana, Dept. Tennessee, until January, 1864.
In June 1863, Confederates from Gaines's Landing, Arkansas, undertook an expedition to Lake Providence, Louisiana, in an effort to disrupt the Union supply lines supporting the Siege of Vicksburg.[7] The Union had constructed fortifications, on top of an old Indian mound about five miles northwest of Goodrich's Landing, guarding a military supply depot. The fort was occupied by two companies of the 1st Arkansas, African Descent. The Confederate Colonel William H. Parsons planned to attack the fort on June 29, and some skirmishing occurred before elements of Confederate Brigadier General James Camp Tappan's brigade of Arkansas infantry arrived. Facing odds of more than 10 to one, the Union commander of the fort agreed to surrender on the condition that the white officers be treated as prisoners of war. Confederates had threatened to execute white officers along with African Americans found under arms. The Confederates move the captured African American soldiers from the 1st Arkansas west to a railhead at Delhi, Louisiana where they could be moved further west into Confederate held territory. Confederate Maj. Gen. John G. Walker admitted in his report concerning the Mound: "I consider it an unfortunate circumstance that any armed negroes were captured," for he had already been warned by Lt. Gen. Kirby Smith that black soldiers were not to be taken prisoner.[8]
Recruiting poster for U.S Colored Troops
The unit was involved in the following engagements while stationed at Goodrich Landing:
The unit was then attached to the 1st Colored Brigade, District of Vicksburg, Miss., until May, 1864.[6] The unit was then attached to 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, U. S. Colored Troops, District of Vicksburg, Miss., till January, 1865.[9]
The unit was attached to the Post and Defenses of Memphis, Tenn., District West Tennessee, until February, 1865.[10] The regiment was ordered to Memphis, Tenn., in January, 1865, and assigned garrison duty there until February, 1865.[11]
The regiment was included in a list of regiment serving on the Mississippi River sent by Major General Edward R. S. Canby to Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant on March 7, 1865. The unit, still under the command of Colonel Wood had 609 effectives of an aggregate strength of 728.[11]
The regiment was next ordered to New Orleans, La., on February 23, 1865, and was on duty there till May 4, 1865. The unit was assigned to New Orleans, La., Dept. of the Gulf, until May, 1865.[9]
Finally the regiment was ordered to Brazos Santiago, Texas, May 4, 1865.[12] The regiment pulled duty at Clarksville and Brownsville on the Rio Grande, Texas, until January, 1866.[9][13] The regiment assisted in attempting to prevent Confederate forces from avoiding surrender by entering Mexico.[14] The unit was reported as being at Brazos, Texas, with 490 men on June 10, 1865,[15] and mustered out on January 30, 1866.[16]
The 1st Arkansas (African Descent) had its own marching song written by Captain Lindley Miller of the 1st Arkansas. The song was sung to the tune of "John Brown's Body" and was published in 1864. The opening stanza ran:[17]
Oh, we're the bully soldiers of the "First of Arkansas,"
We are fighting for the Union, we are fighting for the law,
We can hit a Rebel further than a white man ever saw,
2nd Arkansas Light Artillery, (1860–1865) was a Confederate Army artillery battery which served during the American Civil War. The battery spent the majority of the war serving in Confederate forces east of the Mississippi River. The battery is also referred to as the Clark County Artillery, Robert's Arkansas Battery and Wiggins Arkansas Battery.
The 4th Arkansas Infantry was a Confederate States Army infantry regiment from the state of Arkansas during the American Civil War. The 4th Arkansas served throughout the war in the western theater, seeing action in the Kentucky, Tennessee and Georgia campaigns. Following its depletion in numbers the regiment was consolidated several times with other Arkansas regiments, finally merging in 1865 into the 1st Arkansas Consolidated Mounted Rifles. Another Arkansas unit also had the designation 4th Arkansas, the 4th Regiment, Arkansas State Troops which participated in the Battle of Wilson's Creek, but was never transferred to Confederate Service. There is no connection between the two units.
The 1st Arkansas Infantry (1861–1865) was a Confederate Army infantry regiment during the American Civil War. The regiment was raised in April 1861 by Colonel Thompson B. Flournoy. It moved first to Virginia, but transferred back to Tennessee and served the rest of the war in the western theater, seeing action in the Kentucky, Tennessee and Georgia campaigns. Following its depletion in numbers, the regiment was consolidated several times with other Arkansas regiments, finally merging in 1865 into the 1st Arkansas Consolidated Infantry Regiment. There were three regiments known as "1st Arkansas" during the war. The second unit with the designation of "1st Arkansas" was the 1st Infantry, Arkansas State Troops, which was mustered into Confederate service at Pitman's Ferry, Arkansas, on 23 July 1861, under the command of Colonel Patrick Cleburne; this unit was eventually redesignated as the 15th Arkansas Volunteer Infantry. The third unit bearing the title "1st Arkansas" was the 1st Arkansas Volunteer Infantry, which served with the Union Army.
The 2nd Arkansas Infantry was an army regiment of the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. The regiment was raised in May 1861 under Colonel Thomas C. Hindman. It served throughout the war in the western theater, in the Confederate Army of Tennessee, seeing action in the Kentucky, Tennessee and Georgia campaigns. Following its depletion in numbers, the regiment was consolidated several times with other Arkansas regiments, finally merging in 1865 into the 1st Arkansas Consolidated Infantry Regiment. The regiment has no connection with the 2nd Regiment, Arkansas State Troops, which participated in the Battle of Wilson's Creek, and is also separate from the 2nd Arkansas Consolidated Infantry Regiment, which was formed in 1864 from remnants of regiments surrendered at Vicksburg and Port Hudson.
The 25th Arkansas Infantry was an infantry regiment of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. The unit was originally organized as Turnbull's 11th Arkansas Infantry Battalion. Upon being increased by the required number of companies the battalion was organized as the 30th Arkansas Infantry Regiment but was later redesignated as the 25th Arkansas Infantry. There were two regiments officially designated as the 30th Arkansas Infantry. The other "30th Arkansas" served west of the Mississippi River, in the Department of the Trans-Mississippi and was also known as 5th Trans-Mississippi Regiment or the 39th Arkansas or Rogan's Arkansas Cavalry during Price's 1864 Missouri Expedition.
The 27th Arkansas Infantry Regiment (1862–1865) was a Confederate Army infantry regiment during the American Civil War. The unit served entirely in the Department of the Trans-Mississippi and surrendered at Marshall, Texas, at the war's end.
The 30th Arkansas Infantry (1862–1865) was a Confederate Army infantry regiment during the American Civil War. This regiment was also called the 5th Arkansas Cavalry, the 5th Trans-Mississippi Regiment or 39th Regiment after April, 1863. This regiment was converted to mounted infantry for Price's Missouri Expedition in 1864 and was known as Rogan's Arkansas Cavalry. There were two regiments officially designated as the 30th Arkansas Infantry. The other 30th Arkansas served east of the Mississippi River and was redesignated as the 25th Arkansas Infantry.
The 24th Arkansas Infantry (1861–1865) was a Confederate Army infantry regiment during the American Civil War. The unit began its service in the Department of the Trans-Mississippi, but the bulk of the unit was captured at the Battle of Arkansas Post and shipped to Northern prison camps. The unit was exchanged in Virginia and shipped to Tennessee and joined the Army of Tennessee in time for the Chattanooga Campaign and remained with the army through the Atlanta Campaign, the Franklin-Nashville Campaign and ended the war in North Carolina.
The 3rd Arkansas Consolidated Infantry (1864–1865) was a Confederate Army infantry regiment during the American Civil War. The regiment is separate from and has no connection with the 3rd Arkansas Infantry Regiment which served in the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia and is also separate from the 3rd Regiment, Arkansas State Troops, which participated in the Battle of Wilson's Creek.
The 1st Arkansas Consolidated Infantry (Trans-Mississippi) (1864–1865) was a Confederate States Army infantry regiment during the American Civil War. The regiment is separate from and has no connection with the 1st Arkansas Consolidated Infantry Regiment which was formed in the Confederate Army of Tennessee in April 1865 and is also separate from the 1st Regiment, Arkansas State Troops, which became the 15th (Josey's) Arkansas Infantry Regiment and Fagan's 1st Arkansas Infantry Regiment, which was formed in 1861 and served in the Army of Tennessee.
The 19th Arkansas Infantry Regiment or Dockery's Arkansas Infantry Regiment was an infantry formation of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. There were two other regiments which were designated as the 19th Arkansas. Dawson's 19th Arkansas Infantry was organized at Nashville, Arkansas, on November 21, 1861. Hardy's Arkansas Infantry, which is also occasionally referred to as the 19th Arkansas was organized in 1863 from those parts of Dawson's 19th Infantry Regiment, the 24th Arkansas Infantry Regiment and Crawford's Arkansas Infantry Battalion, which escaped capture at the Battle of Arkansas Post.
The 19th and 24th Consolidated Arkansas Infantry Regiment (1863–1865) was a Confederate Army infantry regiment during the American Civil War. The unit was assembled from the portions of Dawson's 19th Arkansas Infantry Regiment and the 24th Arkansas Infantry Regiment, that were not present when the garrison of Arkansas Post surrendered. The unit is most often referred to as Hardy's Arkansas Infantry Regiment, but by the late stages of the war, the unit was simply referred to simply as Hardy's 19th Arkansas Infantry Regiment. The portions of the 19th Arkansas and the 24th Arkansas which did surrender with the garrison of Arkansas Post were ultimately released east of the Mississippi River and were also briefly designated as the 19th and 24th Consolidated Arkansas Infantry Regiment, in Govan's Brigade of the Army of Tennessee, but that consolidation ended after the Battle of Chickamauga. The 19th and 24th Consolidated Arkansas Infantry Regiment served in the Department of the Trans-Mississippi from its formation in February 1863 until the close of the war.
The 33rd Arkansas Infantry (1861–1865) was a Confederate Army infantry regiment during the American Civil War. The unit served in the Department of the Trans-Mississippi from its formation in the summer of 1862 until the surrender in May 1865.
The 38th Arkansas Infantry (1862–1865) was a Confederate Army infantry regiment during the American Civil War. The unit was often referred to as Shaver's Arkansas Infantry. The unit served in the Department of the Trans-Mississippi from its formation in the summer of 1862 until its surrender in May 1865.
The 1st Arkansas Light Artillery, originally known as the Fort Smith Artillery (1861), was an artillery battery of the Confederate States Army that served during the American Civil War. The unit was actually a pre-war volunteer militia company which was activated as part of the Arkansas State Troops and mustered out of state service following the Battle of Wilson's Creek. The unit immediately re-organized and re-enlisted for Confederate service. The unit spent the majority of the war in the western theater, fighting as part of the Confederate Army of Tennessee. The unit is also known as Reid's Battery, Provence's Battery, Humphreys' Battery and finally Rivers' Battery.
The 47th Arkansas Infantry (Mounted) (1864–1865) was a Confederate Army Mounted Infantry regiment during the American Civil War. While authorized by the State Military Board as an infantry regiment, the unit was mounted for Price's Missouri Expedition and was officially designated as mounted infantry. Due to its mounted status, the unit is sometimes referred to as the 47th Arkansas Cavalry when a numerical designation is used. The unit is most often referred to as Crandell's Arkansas Cavalry Regiment, after its commander Colonel Lee Crandell.
The 54th United States Colored Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The regiment was composed of African American enlisted men commanded by white officers and was authorized by the Bureau of Colored Troops which was created by the United States War Department on May 22, 1863.
The 57th United States Colored Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The regiment was composed of African American enlisted men commanded by white officers and was authorized by the Bureau of Colored Troops which was created by the United States War Department on May 22, 1863.
The 112th United States Colored Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The regiment was composed of African American enlisted men commanded by white officers and was authorized by the Bureau of Colored Troops which was created by the United States War Department on May 22, 1863.
The 113th United States Colored Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The regiment was composed of African American enlisted men commanded by white officers and was authorized by the Bureau of Colored Troops which was created by the United States War Department on May 22, 1863.
↑ United States. War Dept.. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union And Confederate Armies. Series 1, Volume 48, In Two Parts. Part 1, Reports, Correspondence, etc., Book, 1896; digital images, (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth139842/m1/464/?q=One hundred thirteenth colored infantry: accessed September 11, 2013), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department, Denton, Texas.
1 2 United States. War Dept.. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union And Confederate Armies. Series 1, Volume 48, In Two Parts. Part 1, Reports, Correspondence, etc., Book, 1896; digital images, (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth139842/m1/1126/?q=fifty-fourth United States Colored infantry: accessed September 11, 2013), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department, Denton, Texas.
↑ United States. War Dept.. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union And Confederate Armies. Series 1, Volume 48, In Two Parts. Part 2, Correspondence, etc., Book, 1896; digital images, (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth139841/m1/308/?q=forty-sixth: accessed September 11, 2013), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department, Denton, Texas.
↑ United States. War Dept.. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union And Confederate Armies. Series 1, Volume 48, In Two Parts. Part 2, Correspondence, etc., Book, 1896; digital images, (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth139841/m1/931/?q=forty-sixth: accessed September 11, 2013), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department, Denton, Texas.
↑ United States. War Dept.. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union And Confederate Armies. Series 1, Volume 48, In Two Parts. Part 2, Correspondence, etc., Book, 1896; digital images, (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth139841/m1/204/?q=forty-sixth: accessed September 11, 2013), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department, Denton, Texas.
↑ United States. War Dept.. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union And Confederate Armies. Series 1, Volume 48, In Two Parts. Part 2, Correspondence, etc., Book, 1896; digital images, (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth139841/m1/842/?q=forty-sixth: accessed September 11, 2013), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department, Denton, Texas.
↑ Tabular Analysis of the Records of the U.S. Colored Troops and Their Predecessor Units in the National Archives of the United States. Special List No. 33. National Archives and records Service General Services Administration Washington: 1973.Compiled by Joseph B. Ross. FHL 973 M2rt Film:1036062 Item 21
1 2 Walls, David (2007). "Marching Song of the First Arkansas Colored Regiment: A Contested Attribution". The Arkansas Historical Quarterly. 66 (4): 401–421. JSTOR40031121. ProQuest213375464.
Bibliography
Desmond Walls Allen, ARKANSAS DAMNED YANKEES: An Index to Union Soldiers in Arkansas Regiments, Arkansas Research, Inc. ISBN0-941765-12-1.
Bearss, Edwin Cole. Steele's Retreat from Camden and the Battle of Jenkins' Ferry. Little Rock: Arkansas Civil War Centennial Commission, 1967.
Burkhart, George S. Confederate Rage, Yankee Wrath: No Quarter in the Civil War. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 2007.
Christ, Mark K., ed. (2003). 'All Cut to Pieces and Gone to Hell': The Civil War, Race Relations, and the Battle of Poison Spring. August House. ISBN978-0-87483-736-0.
Glatthaar, Joseph T. Forged in Battle: The Civil War Alliance of Black Soldiers and White Officers. New York: Free Press, 1990.
Hargrove, Hondon B. Black Union Soldiers in the Civil War. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, 2003.
Lause, Mark A. Race and Radicalism in the Union Army. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2009.
Nichols, Ronnie A. (Fall 2013). "Emancipation of Black Union Soldiers in Little Rock, 1863–1865". Pulaski County Historical Review. 61: 76–85.
Robertson, Brian K. (2007). "'Will They Fight? Ask the Enemy': United States Colored Troops at Big Creek, Arkansas, July 26, 1864". The Arkansas Historical Quarterly. 66 (3): 320–332. JSTOR40028108. ProQuest213350141.
Trudeau, Noah Andre. Like Men of War: Black Troops in the Civil War 1862–1865. Boston: Back Bay Books, 1999.
Urwin, Gregory J. W. Black Flag over Dixie: Racial Atrocities and Reprisals in the Civil War. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 2005.
Walls, David (2007). "Marching Song of the First Arkansas Colored Regiment: A Contested Attribution". The Arkansas Historical Quarterly. 66 (4): 401–421. JSTOR40031121. ProQuest213375464.
Wilson, J. T. (1888). The Black Phalanx: A history of the Negro soldiers of the United States in the war of 1775-1812, 1861-'65. Hartford, Conn: American Pub. Co.
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